Poverty makes you sad as well as wise.
—Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German Poet, Playwright, Theater Personality
Who, being loved, is poor?
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
We have not yet reached the goal but.. we shall soon, with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty shall be banished from this nation.
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) 31st American President
When the rich wage war it is the poor who die.
—Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80) French Philosopher, Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Political Activist
Empty pockets make empty heads.
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American Poet, Novelist, Cultural Historian
Poverty is the step-mother of genius.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
A poor beauty finds more lovers than husbands.
—English Proverb
You don’t seem to realize that a poor person who is unhappy is in a better position than a rich person who is unhappy. Because the poor person has hope. He thinks money would help.
—Jean Kerr (1922–2003) Irish-American Author, Playwright
You lose your manners when you’re poor.
—Lillian Hellman (1905–84) American Dramatist, Memoirist
Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.
—James Baldwin (1924–87) American Novelist, Social Critic
America is an enormous frosted cupcake in the middle of millions of starving people.
—Gloria Steinem (b.1934) American Feminist, Journalist, Social Activist, Political Activist
I thank fate for having made me born poor. Poverty taught me the true value of the gifts useful to life.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
Give me the poverty that enjoys true wealth.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
I am a poor man, but I have this consolation: I am poor by accident, not by design.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
In a change of masters the poor change nothing except their master’s name.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
Poverty in itself does not make men into a rabble; a rabble is created only when there is joined to poverty a disposition of mind, an inner indignation against the rich, against society, against the government.
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) German Philosopher
Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty: permit the distinctive sign of our order to be that it does not possess anything of its own beneath the sun, for the glory of your name, and that it have no other patrimony than begging.
—Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) Italian Monk, Founder of the Franciscan Order
Do not ask the name of the person who seeks a bed for the night. He who is reluctant to give his name is the one who most needs shelter.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Here we all live in a state of ambitious poverty.
—Juvenal (c.60–c.136 CE) Roman Poet
Poor is the man who does not know his own intrinsic worth and tends to measure everything by relative value. A man of financial wealth who values himself by his financial net worth is poorer than a poor man who values himself by his intrinsic self worth.
—Sidney Madwed (1926–2013) American Poet, Author
You can’t get rid of poverty by giving people money.
—P. J. O’Rourke (1947–2022) American Journalist, Political Satirist
As for the virtuous poor, one can pity them, of course, but one cannot possibly admire them. They have made private terms with the enemy, and sold their birthright for very bad pottage. They must also be extraordinarily stupid.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.
—Madonna (b.1958) American Pop Singer, Actress
Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Painless poverty is better than embittered wealth.
—Greek Proverb
Four specters haunt the Poor—Old Age, Accident, Sickness and Unemployment. We are going to exorcise them. We are going to drive hunger from the hearth. We mean to banish the workhouse from the horizon of every workman in the land.
—David Lloyd George (1863–1945) British Liberal Statesman
Poverty is uncomfortable, as I can testify: but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim for himself.
—James A. Garfield (1831–81) American Head of State, Lawyer, Educator
What we have found in this country, and maybe we’re more aware of it now, is one problem that we’ve had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless, you might say, by choice.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State